Christmas at the Troop

I forgot I had these pictures, so I wanted to post them before Christmas was too far gone!!!
We took the girls to church in their Santa dresses. One of the best things about girls is ALL the cute outfits. :) By the time we made it to church, their hats were pulled down over their eyes, and they were sleeping. So precious!!
After church, we went to the Troop Christmas Party. This is Sadie with Steve Pezant (sp??). He plays softball with Nathan every spring, and he was so sweet holding the girls.

Here are the girls and Nathan with Colonel Mike Edmonson. He is definitely the man the girls will want to know when they start driving. :)

And here is..............SANTA!!!!! This was the neatest thing in the world. Santa flew in on a HELICOPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was waving from the seat, and he flew in and landed right on the premises. He had presents for all the kids...I was as excited as they were. :) Scarlett...I requested that Ebenezer join him next year. tehe!

The girls were so excited to meet daddy's buddies. Nathan has a lot of great friends that he works with, and they all have GREAT wives. We only wish we could get to see them more often. Can't wait till softball season!!

In Thibodaux...

I'm at home right now, and I forgot the camera cord to download pictures, so it will be Friday before I can show pictures of the girls. Today, they ate an entire jar of green beans!! They HATE the rice cereal, so if you have suggestions for tricking them into eating it, let me know. :)
Christmas was wonderful....Nathan and I got a video camera, so we could document all the special moments with the girls. We have bath time, feeding time, play time.....it has been SO much fun. Rylie and Sadie are both rolling over all the time now, and they are trying REALLY hard to sit up. Nathan is in Baton Rouge with the cadets at the Academy, so Melissa, Heather, and I are hanging out with Mom and Dad for the week. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Day!!!

P.S.- My best friend broke her collar bone and may need surgery, so please pray for her!!!!

Here's the Video

Here is the video of sweet Sadie Bug laughing...Rylie is totally disinterested on the side. Love, love, love these babies!!!!!!!!!! :)

SADIE LAUGHED!!

What a milestone night!!! Sadie actually had a belly laugh...not just a giggle....a big, fabulous, glorious, beautiful laugh. Nathan got it on video, so I will put it up once our computer is fixed.

Every single day with the girls is filled with wonder....I finally have a small taste of the joy Mary felt this night thousands of years ago. She looked down at her amazing Son, and I can only imagine that her heart was on the verge of bursting with joy. Regardless of her surroundings in the stable or the pain that would come in the future, for that one night she was able to love and hold her Son, cherishing His tiny little fingers and toes, rubbing His soft head, and kissing His sweet little cheeks. I'm sure she just sat and breathed Him in, imprinting a memory in her mind that would last for eternity. As you celebrate this Christmas, thank God for His gift that became a sacrifice for you and me. Remember that He receives the glory so that we might receive the grace. Love and Peace to you all.

A Year Ago....

What a difference a year makes!! I found out I was pregnant a year ago at this time. I waited until Christmas Eve to tell Nathan (I wanted it to be his Christmas surprise), and it just about killed me. EVERYONE knew before Nathan did because I couldn't keep it in. :) I took him down to the deck in Thibodaux where we first started dating back in 1999!! I told him that I had an early Christmas present, and I gave him a gift bag. Inside was a teddy bear and a pregnancy test showing that we were expecting a little angel. At the time, I just thought I had one baby. Little did I know then that God was going to give us a double dose of joy.
Sadie and Rylie will be six months old tomorrow, Dec. 20th.......WOW!!! There are no words to describe how amazing these past six months have been. Those girls are my heart and soul. Every dream I have is wrapped up in them and Nathan. It's amazing when you can look at your life and say, "My dreams have come true." Jesus, thank you. I love you!

Computers...Bleh!!!

Our laptop has the flu right now, so it may be a week or so before I post new pictures. The girls are doing great...They look like little candy canes right now, and we have had a great morning. My book says that this stage is one of the best, and so far, it is right!! The past two nights, the girls have slept for eleven hours STRAIGHT. No whimpering, no whining for a pacifier, nothing. I have not felt this refreshed in six months. :) I do get up and check on them during the night, and they are sleeping so soundly. I hope we stay in this phase for a very, very long time!
Melissa will find out if she is having a boy or girl tomorrow, and I'll post it as soon as we know!!!! I am so excited! I'm kind of hoping for a girl, but I'll be happy with whatever God sends. Have a blessed day!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!

We had the most wonderful weekend! On Saturday, we had the Randall family Christmas with ALL of Nathan's family. There were probably 50 people there, and it was so much fun seeing everyone again. I wish we could do it more than once a year!! We have a huge potluck, and the food is always divine. This year, I decided to be crafty, so I made Santa cupcakes inside ice cream cones. Santa had a red-hot hat and a coconut beard. Nathan and I had a ball making these together....we ate about half of the candy...and we were really pleased with the results. I cannot wait until I'm making these with Sadie and Rylie. :)

Here are the girls with Uncle Greg and Aunt Cindy. They did such a great job loving on the babies and sharpening our knives. :)

Here is Sarah Beth with her hands full. When I met Sarah Beth, she was in first or second grade. It's amazing to see how beautiful she is! Scarlett--the girls are getting so much use out of these outfits...I adore them!

Here is Sadie with Aunt Allison. Sadie totally resembles Nathan and Allison's baby pictures.

Here is the massive round-up of family members. It seems like everybody is holding a baby!! We are so blessed to know and love each and every one of these people.

This is Memommy...the woman who gave birth to this incredible gathering. She is the rock of this family, and the girls adore her.

Here are 6 of the 8 newborns we had joining the family this year. Asher was sick :( , but I know we will get to see them soon. There are two sets of twins, and one of the babies was born only 6 weeks ago. These kids already have a ton of cousins!

Our family....words cannot express the joy that floods my heart anytime I think of these three people. You all are my heart, my joy, my life.

Peeking around the babies...look at those little bottoms. :o)

The Sharbono family members (minus Jonas)....I have fabulous in-laws!!!!!

On Sunday, we went to the Troop E Christmas party, and Santa was there!!!!! We got a picture with him, but I'll post it tomorrow. My little eyelids are beginning to droop. Night, friends!!

Eating Baby Cereal

So, we have started the girls on some rice cereal. They will be six months old in eight days, so we wanted to start experimenting with it VERY slowly to see how they would adjust. They aren't quite sure what to think of it yet. Some times, they devour it, and other times, they spit it out and cry. Nathan feels sorry for them because he says it smells disgusting. I got the organic cereal, which is probably just a waste of money, but I have too much of my mom in me. :) Here are some pictures of Rylie Jean eating. I adore the first picture....her little face is so angelic.

Here is daddy feeding her. Nathan is so involved in every part of raising these girls. I'm very blessed to have him as my "baby daddy." haha

Tomorrow is the Randall family Christmas, an annual tradition where the entire family gets together. It's always a wonderful time, and we are looking forward to seeing all the new babies in the family. We are going to miss seeing Andrea and Asher, but know that we are praying for you both to feel better!!!! Have a great weekend, Everyone!!

Baby Dedication

We dedicated the girls to the Lord at church Sunday, and it was a wonderful, joyous occasion for our families. The girls were dressed in beautiful, hand-embroidered pink dresses from Little Presh boutique in Thibodaux. Thanks to Mrs. Chris and Bre for having such perfect dresses in your store!! :) They had tiny little slips underneath, and they wore white tights. I couldn't have imagined just how cute they would be. I had the tree up, so Nathan and I took pictures with the girls by the tree before we left for church.

Me, Pop, and Rylie....she loves sleeping on Pop. :)

During the service, all the families with babies were seated on the front row. At the beginning of the dedication, we were asked to stand and pledge to our children that we would lead them in the Lord, and we pledged to the Lord that we would live our lives in accordance with His will. The fathers were asked to hold the babies as a sign of their spiritual leadership in the home, so Nathan had his hands full. :)

Mrs. Bonnie (our children's minister) posted pictures of the girls while we were on stage. I had pictures of the girls from the NICU to now, showing how God has brought them SO far. It brought tears to my eyes to look at our baby girls. I can't believe all the blessings that have come in 2008. This has been a year to remember!

We signed dedication cards for the girls, which listed a covenant between us and God to have Him as the center of our home and our family.

Glen, our pastor, prayed over Nathan, me, and the girls. We have known Glen since college, and we have loved him and his wife, Tylitha, for many years. They have been models of Godliness and faith to us, and we love them deeply. I know they both have prayed many hours for our family, and I'm thankful that Glen will be the leader of the church that my girls will be brought up in. Donahue Family Church has been an immeasurable blessing in our marriage, and I'm so excited that we have a body that is "crossing the Jordan." God is so good!

After the ceremony, we took gobs of pictures, but most of them are on Mom's camera. I'll post those up when I get them, but here is one of the girls and their first cousin, Jonas Parker Valentine. Isn't he the cutest little boy????

I'll post more pictures of the dedication later, but here are a few to get us started. It was an amazing day, and I am so excited about all God has in store for our lives. Thanks to all the family members and friends who came to support us on this day....we love you!!!!

Picking out the Tree!

In my home growing up, picking out the Christmas tree was one of our FAVORITE days of the year. Mom and Dad would pile us all into the car on the day after Thanksgiving, and we would pick out the tree as a family. Once we got it home, we would spend HOURS decorating it. Our favorite decoration was a never-ending string of popcorn and cranberries that we would wrap around the tree from top to bottom. We would string it for hours while we listened to Christmas music and drank cider. Ashley Pearson Barrios was a trooper when it came to helping me...many of our trees were decorated thanks to Ash's help. :) I am continuing this tradition in my own home, so Nathan and I dressed the girls up in their Christmas gear and went to Lowe's in search of the perfect tree. Heather and Wade came with us to help manuever the tree and the kids. Twins are not always as easy as they look. :) This is when we got to the store.

This is Nathan CHEERFULLY holding up a tree for me to inspect. :)

We got our perfect tree, and Heather and I took the girls back to the truck because it was freezing!!!! Rylie was getting some early practice driving Daddy's truck.

Nathan had to work that night, and I couldn't resist a picture of my gorgeous husband with my two girls....I'm so proud of my family!!!!!

Look at those two little faces....I love them more and more everyday. Being a mom is the greatest gift in the world. Thank you Lord for Sadie and Rylie!

The tree is decorated, and my shopping is done! Hooray!! Also, we had baby dedication on Sunday, and it was amazing. I'm a little behind on pictures, but I'll get them up tomorrow. We fed the girls a little bit of organic rice cereal, and it went really well. They loved it! They kept slurping on the spoon....I think we have some Brinker smackers on hand. haha

Have a blessed day!

Love from the Pourciau Family

Scarlett and Damon Pourciau are some of our oldest (as in length of years we have known them!!) and best friends. Scarlett and I love so many of the same things, and this year, we had the similar joy of having daughters!! I already know Stella will be witty and hilarious, and I can't wait for the girls to get two weeks in the summer with her. :)
Scarlett contacted Ebenezer the Wise Man (our version of Santa Claus), and he sent the girls these outfits. Are they not the CUTEST things you have ever seen??
Thanks to Scarlett, Damon, and Stella for putting us in the height of fashion this Christmas. We love you and can't wait to see you for CELINE DION!!!!! :)
And Scarlett....if Rylie ends up with red hair, PROMISE me you will love her anyway!!!!! hahahahahaha

We got our Shots!

Today, we finally got our Synagis shots!! The girls had to get them because they were born early, and these shots are the most effective means of keeping the girls from getting RSV. They were little troopers in the nurse's office. They were not big fans of the shots, but they did quite well, and she was very pleased at the way their little lungs and hearts sounded. We are so thankful that the girls have stayed well so far this year, and we are praying that they will remain healthy.
Nathan is pulling a two-day escort for work, so the girls and I are getting some quality time at home together. They stay awake for a good portion of the day, and I'm trying to be creative at entertaining them without turning on the T.V. For those of you who think I'm crazy, The Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend television for children under 2 years of age, and so, I'm trying to keep the girls away from it. So....we sing, we dance, we roll around, we have tummy time, and we cry. :) It will be nice when we can go outside again.....but if you think of any creative ideas for keeping the girls happy, let me know!!

Yesterday, they played in their bouncy chairs. I got out their teddy bears, and we had so much fun together. They laugh all the time until I get the camera on them. Once they see the camera, they are so focused on it, they won't do anything else but stare. Here is Sadie with her blankie and her teddy.

To my somewhat dismay, Rylie is losing most of her hair, but the part that is growing back is blonde. So, I think we are definitely going to have girls that look different from one another. Their looks are as different as their personalities. Sadie is the crowd pleaser, and Rylie just likes to laugh at her. Sadie is a daddy's girl, and Rylie loves her momma. :) However, I think both girls will be daddy's girls when it's all said and done. This is Rylie, her blankie, and her teddy.

We LOVE the Poole family!! This is Mr. Terry, Wade's father. He is just getting a little practice before his grandbaby gets here in May. :) He's going to be a great granddad! We love ya, T!

Here is Nathan reading the Bible Story to the girls. This is a part of our nightime routine, and they love listening to him read. I'm so thankful they have a dad who is teaching them about the Lord. I'm glad I had one too! :)

Nathan and I are trying to find ways to enjoy our evenings without television as well, so that we learn how to better spend family time together. It has been the greatest thing ever!! We have had such a good time together, and we don't feel like we waste nearly as much time. Last night, we had a friendly game of two-man spades. It actually was friendly for those of you who know how competitive we both are. :) Rylie woke up, so she helped Nathan play his hand. At least, that was his excuse when he lost. haha.

Hope you all have a wonderful week! Hopefully, we have Christmas tree pictures up soon!!!!!